Small Change
by Phankam
Summary: Why on Earth did my parents decide to move back to England? I was happy in France, thankyouverymuch! - Dominique isn't too thrilled about going to Hogwarts for the first time, especially since she's already thirteen and starting her third year. INDEFINITE HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own Harry Potter. Sorry to disappoint you if you thought I did! (:_

_---_

I pulled my worst face at my dad, who stared at me through the rear-view mirror for a second before chuckling, probably at the expression I was aiming for him. I didn't laugh though. I was upset, very upset, on the verge of angry tears, and no, I am definitely not exaggerating.

As we pulled over in front of King's Cross, I realised this was definite, not going back. No matter how much I missed Beauxbatons and how much I had cried and begged over the summer, this was most definitely the horrible twist destiny had for me.

Thought not unheard of, pretty much no one transferred from one magical school to a rival one, but of course, since when has my family even _tried_ to be normal? I mean, seriously, just _look_ at us. My dad with his _earring _and _ponytail_, making him look so weird being in his forties –probably close to his fifties!-, and maman and her gorgeous hair and just gorgeous presence, my sister being just so… so Victoire like and Louis, oh please, don't let me get started on the _petit monstre._ And that's just talking about my close family, because my cousins do get on my nerves pretty often, so loud and not quite right in the mind, but don't take it the wrong way, God knows how much I love them!

"Dominique, get off the car please." Dad said from outside. I nodded, knowing there was no use in arguing anymore. I pushed my luggage trolley, following my family closely. I had been to Platform 9 ¾ before, and it never impressed me. I missed everything in Beauxbatons.

Going to Hogwarts wasn't half as exciting as anyone going there for the first time would consider.

I stood around the platform, not sure of what to do as dad and maman talked to Louis, who couldn't be any more excited. I let my eyes wander around, trying to see any familiar faces, which was pointless, I didn't know anyone my age who went to Hogwarts.

I was wondering for the millionth time since I was told we were moving back to England if my parents ever thought about how horrible and embarrassing it would be to start at Hogwarts in my third-year. Thank goodness Professor McGonagall had agreed on sorting Victoire and me privately, to save us from the horrible punishment of marching along the little first years towards the talking hat.

"Bill! I had forgotten you would be coming this year too!" I recognised that voice immediately, for it belonged to my favourite aunt, Ginny Potter. I smiled at her, feeling a little bit more cheerful, or at least more cheerful than I had felt for a long time.

"Ginny!" Dad hugged her with the kind of affection he reserved for few people, and then shook hands with Uncle Harry. Just then I saw my three younger cousins, James, Albus and Lily, although none of them looked old enough for Hogwarts. "What brings you here?"

"Andromeda asked me if I could bring Teddy over this year, and the kids insisted on tagging along." Uncle Harry explained, gesturing to his three children. James had already left his father's side to talk to Louis. I remembered that they were barely twenty days apart in age, but since James' birthday was after September 1st he wasn't yet eleven, so he wasn't old enough for Hogwarts.

"Dom, how are you doing?" Aunt Ginny asked walking towards me, with little Albus right behind her holding her hand. I shrugged, not really sure of what to answer. "Still against the idea of going to Hogwarts?"

Albus gasped, bringing attention on him from both my and his mother's side. He blushed and looked down, muttering an apology.

"I'd much rather go to _my_ school, thank-you-very-much." I said, trying not to be rude, because, after all, Aunt Ginny was my all-time favourite relative.

"You'll love it at Hogwarts, sweetie." Aunt Ginny said, trying to be encouraging. I nodded and smiled, two things I had grown accustomed to faking in the past months, because apparently everyone expected you to be happy about going to Great Britain's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the so-called Hogwarts.

I just wished to go back to Beauxbatons, but I knew there was no point in trying to convince my parents of the benefits of that.

...

The train was full, of course, of loud people and the noise of animals. I followed Teddy down the train, because, really, I didn't know anyone else. Victoire was animatedly talking to him, but that was just her being her normal charming self, and Louis was right behind me, eyeing every compartment warily.

"Dom, I'll stay in this compartment." He said after a while. I nodded, not really paying attention but at the same time glad of not having to have him following me anymore. Teddy finally got into a compartment, and helped both Victoire and me to get our things up in the luggage rack.

"You'll like Hogwarts, Vic." He said, smiling at her. I noticed how he was ignoring me, and I felt slightly insulted, actually not slightly but _very_offended, but didn't comment. After a while I realised that Victoire and Teddy were having a conversation in which I wasn't to be included anytime soon, I stood up and went for a walk.

I was just so bored, and so angry. Why was I here anyway? Why couldn't we just stay in France until I finished school?

"Domi! Over here!" I turned around when I heard my name being called by a familiar voice. I turned around, and saw my cousin Molly waving at me. I smiled at walked towards her, she was a nice girl to have around, not like her sister Lucy, who was more likely to get along with someone like the petit monstre, not me. "I had forgotten you were coming to Hogwarts this year! Here, come sit with us."

I walked in the compartment and sat down next to Molly. The rest of the people there looked at me with curious looks upon their faces. Some of them actually smiled.

I spent some time looking at each of the people in the compartment, all of them Gryffindors according to Molly, all of them either second or third years. I studied their faces as Molly introduced them to me, but my eyes stopped at the last one, feeling something undefined as I stared into his blue eyes.

"... and that's Matt Walters. He's a third-year, like you." Molly finished, being those the only words that had come out of her mouth that I bothered to register. Matt Walters smiled a little, and I smiled back.

Finally! Hogwarts has at least _one _good thing about it!

---

_I wrote this because I figured it'd be good for a laugh, at least for me! I hope you enjoy this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it! You'll see Dominique growing, and starting to like her new school better, but she won't give up easily!_

_Please review!_

_-Phankam._


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: **__Don't own Harry Potter, just my little OCs. Enjoy._

---

Ravenclaw.

What is _Ravenclaw_, exactly? What qualities distinguish a Ravenclaw? I don't even think _anyone_ in the Weasley family has _**ever**_ been a Ravenclaw.

Our sorting was discreet, just at it had been promised, but that didn't mean it wasn't completely annoying. Because sitting in the headmistress' office for half an hour with no other company than my older sister Victoire definitely doesn't qualify as glamorous, not even tolerable.

"Are you nervous, Domi?" she asked for what seemed like the thousand time since we had woken up that morning. I shook my head, wondering if she was developing some kind of problem in her brain that left her unable her to store memories, or if she was just asking to end up making me nervous by acting like I should be. "You'll like Hogwarts. Personally, I missed..."

"You _missed _it? You've never been a student here." I pointed out as I raised an eyebrow. Victoire stared at me, and I wasn't quite sure if she was about to laugh or to yell at me. With Victoire, one could never be too sure about anything.

"I was going to say that I missed my chance of starting out young, so it's cool that you're getting it." She finished, rolling her eyes. "You should stop being so dramatic."

"I am not dramatic." I replied, rolling my eyes. Victoire stared at me for another second, and sighed. I was glad to find out she wasn't about to start talking again, so instead I started looking around the room. Lots of portraits of old Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses looked down upon us, most of them with curiosity embedded in their facial expressions. None of their names sounded even slightly familiar to me, so I got bored rather quickly, and my mind wandered back to the horrible destiny that awaited me beyond the doors of the room in which we were waiting.

Hogwarts. Of course, I had grown up hearing about Hogwarts from my dad and dad's side of the family, but it never seemed like the place for me. I don't even think I ever wanted to come here, not like the other wizarding children out there.

Beauxbatons, on the other side, was a gorgeous place, in an amazingly beautiful palace, not an ugly stone castle with nothing interesting to it. Who cared if Hogwarts was the best Witchcraft and Wizardry school in Europe? For me, it would never ever replace Beauxbatons. _**Never**_.

I was so deep into my thoughts that I jumped in surprise when the door of the room opened, and people whose names I did not know entered. Neville Longbottom, who I knew to be friends with uncle Harry, uncle Ron, aunt Ginny and aunt Hermione, was among them. He smiled at us, and I barely returned the smile, because I actually didn't know the man too well. He was carrying what looked like a stool with an ugly hat on top of it.

"It's always a pleasure to have new students at Hogwarts." A short old man stated with a big smile. "I am Professor Flitwick, and I'm deputy headmaster, Charms Professor and also Head of the Ravenclaw house."

"Nice to meet you professor." Victoire said in a really polite voice. I nodded in agreement, not really wanting to talk.

"Oldest Weasleys of the New Generation." An old man with a walrus-like moustache said, smiling broadly. "I'm Professor Slughorn, Head of the House of Slytherin and Potions master."

"Professor Longbottom, Head of Gryffindor, and Herbology professor." Neville said quickly, not looking nearly as wise or apt for teaching as the previous two did, or at least that's what he looked like in my eyes.

"And I'm Professor Bones, Head of Hufflepuff, and I teach Ancient Runes, which if I'm not mistaken one of you has taken before in your previous school."

"That would be me." Victoire said smiling. "I'm Victoire."

"Dominique." I said quickly, wanting to do this as fast as possible.

"It took us a while to think how we would sort you two, but in the end we decided that our best option was to have you be sorted here and then go back to the Start-of-year Feast." Professor Flitwick explained quickly as he walked towards us, being closely followed by Professor Longbottom, who put down the stool and picked up the hat. "This is the Sorting Hat, which I'm sure you've heard about from your family."

"Yeah." Both of us said at the same time, eyeing the hat warily. I figured Victoire was also contemplating the oldness and disgusting state it seemed to be in.

"Where did our brother end up?" Victoire asked as she sat down in the stool as Professor Longbottom indicated her.

"Gryffindor, like your cousin Molly last year." Neville said, putting the hair on top of her head. "And your cousin Lucy got into Ravenclaw… first Weasley in Ravenclaw, I believe."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure everyone else has been a Gryffindor." I commented, thinking back. Dad had said it didn't matter which House we were sorted into, but he obviously hoped for Gryffindor. Maman seemed to silently agree with him.

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat said, startling all of us. Victoire took the hat off, with a huge grin across her face.

"That is way better than Beauxbatons." She said, apparently not thinking about much her statement. I scowled at her and sat on the stool. Victoire smiled teasingly at me and put the hat on top of my head.

"_Hmmm…_" the hat seemed to be talking inside my head, which I found to be really weird. "_Another Weasley, yet you don't seem like the previous ones… definitely cunning, trying to prove yourself as worthy, are you not?_"

"_You're a hat. How could you even know?_" I thought, frowning.

"_You have qualities of a Slytherin, but I also spot an innate intelligence and wit, which would make you suitable for Ravenclaw…_"

"_Ravenclaw? Like my sister? What makes me anything like my sister_?" I snapped inside my mind, frowning upon the statement.

"_You want to know more, to have your questions answered, that curiosity seems to overpower the cunning that you posses, and that's definitely a characteristic of a _RAVENCLAW!"

"Why does it even have to yell it? It's not like there's much noise in here." I complained taking the hat off, still glaring at it. How am I even remotely similar to my sister in _anything_?

"Amazing! Three Weasley Ravenclaws in one night!" Professor Flitwick seemed delighted, and it annoyed me. The poor old man seemed to be going mad. "Well, now we can all go back into the Great Hall for some dinner, shall we?"

The hat was taken off my hand by Professor Bones, who smiled brightly at me, and I stood up, still feeling dumbfounded.

Ravenclaw? Seriously? What makes me anything similar to Lucy? Or Victoire? No offence to the House of Ravenclaw, but I'd rather taken Slytherin over having to stand them _that_ close to me for the rest of my school career.

Minutes later, I found myself following the professors along with my sister back into what they called the Great Hall. It wasn't until we got there that I realised that all the people I had met were sitting under the red banner with a golden lion on it –the gorgeous Matt Walters among them-, and not at the table were the other Ravenclaws were. I spotted Teddy waving at us from the Gryffindor table... or, really, waving at Victoire, and mouthing something. Victoire pointed at the Ravenclaw table and grinned. I sighed and looked around, looking for my people my own age. I was surprised to see a group of girls waving at me, all with huge smiles upon their faces.

Well, friendly people. How could I say no to that? Maybe I don't like Hogwarts, but if I'm spending the next five years here –insert shudder here- I might as well make some friends with my classmates. I walked towards them and sat were they moved over from to leave some space.

"Hello! Welcome to Hogwarts." A really pretty girl with straight waist-long hair said, smiling widely. I wondered if she always spoke that slowly or what. "Do you speak English?" she asked, as if she was talking to a very small, slow child.

"English?" I repeated, raising both eyebrow. "Yeah, my dad is English, my grandparents are English and most of my cousins are English. I do speak English, and I might say that very well too."

All the girls stared at me, a couple of them with their mouths slightly open. I felt stupid for answering like that, as if I found myself to be smarter than them.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I should've realised... didn't mean to..."

"It's okay. Normal mistake, I suppose." I said quickly, not wanting to kill the friendly spirit they were using with me. Their faces returned to the previous smiles.

"I'm Monica Gallagher." The black haired girl said. She obviously seemed like the leader of the three girls, for no one else had spoken yet. "What's your name?"

"Dominique Weasley." I answered, smiling slightly.

"Are you related to that small girl who got sorted into Ravenclaw today?" a girl with curly hair asked. The black haired rolled her eyes.

"Duh! Obviously, they're the Weasleys! They're all related!" she stated as if it was obvious. The third girl stared at me with awe.

"So you know Harry Potter, don't you?" she asked shyly. Monica gave her a look, but it didn't seem to intimidate her.

"Uncle Harry? Sure, he's okay." I said, having forgotten that he was so famous, and that here in England people probably made a bigger deal out of him.

"She probably doesn't like talking about that." Monica said, shaking her head.

"True that. I'm Sabrina Metz." The curly haired girl introduced herself, smiling and tucking a stray blonde curl behind her ear.

"Emily Carlson." The last girl said, smiling a little.

"We're all third years, so we'll be roommates!" Monica explained, smiling widely. "So Dominique... is there any nickname you go by?"

"Dom is fine." I said, smiling back. The girls seemed to be awfully curious about me, and I wondered that if once the excitement of having a new classmate wore off they would just ignore me as if I didn't exist...

I couldn't let that happen, of course.

In Beauxbatons, I was popular among my classmates. I didn't want to be here, true, but if I had no choice I wanted to at least have a decent time while at it. So I wasn't going to let these girls ignore me. No way.

We talked through dinner, with most of the questions aimed at my schooling in France. They all seemed to think France was a wonderful place –I agreed-, and were jealous of that I lived by the Mediterranean sea.

"I love your hair. Is it your natural colour?" Monica asked as we were eating some dessert. I nodded, smiling.

"It's a family trait." I said proudly. Maybe people didn't feel any kind of veela attraction towards me like they did with maman or grandmère, but I did have the silvery blonde hair and delicate features, just like my sister and brother. "On my maman's side, that's it." I added, seeing that they were looking sideways at my very-red-haired cousin Lucy.

Monica opened her mouth to say something, but then Professor McGonagall stood up and everyone went quiet.

...

"The Ravenclaw common room! To get in, you must answer a question." Sabrina explained as we followed the rest of the group. I didn't get to hear the question because we were too far back, but obviously someone up front did because we were soon moving into the room. "This is the Common Room."

I followed her in, with Emily closely behind me. Monica was nowhere to be seen, and Sabrina now acted like she was second-in-command.

"Our room is this way, follow me." She said. I did as I was told, because it was a smarter strategy to let them lead me on the first days. After a couple doors, we walked into a room with six four-poster beds, with lots of blue in the decoration. Well... at least the colour to be worn was blue, just like my Beauxbatons uniform.

I wasn't surprised to find that my trunk was at one of the beds, the one closest to the door, so I sat down there.

"Who are our other two roommates?" I asked, doing some quick math and noticing that there were two girls I obviously hadn't met.

"Marietta Cooper and Jessica Davies." Emily replied, sitting in the bed right next to mine. "They're always together. And they're not very nice."

It took me off guard to hear Emily speaking so much, she had acted very shyly all night.

"We don't really talk to them." Sabrina added. "Just Monica talks to them, but that's because she's Monica."

"How is that an excuse?" I couldn't stop myself from asking. Sabrina and Emily looked at each other and then at me, as if I had grown an extra head or something.

"Monica is... well, Monica. You'll understand soon, Dom."

That seemed to finish the conversation for the night, so I got ready and got into bed. The three other girls arrived shortly, Monica headed straight to Sabrina and whispered something in her ear, which made her giggle.

I frowned. There was definitely some drama going on here. Emily stared at me from the other bed, her brown eyes fixed upon mine. She seemed to be asking for something, but I couldn't think of what that could be.

Everyone else headed into bed soon, and the room was dark in a short time.

So, first day at Hogwarts. Impressions? Not so sure yet.

Why did I get sorted into Ravenclaw? I'm not sure either.

I still can't believe I'm here and not in _my_ school, with _my _friends.

I sighed, deciding to write a letter to Juliette, my best friend in France, as soon as I got up.

Oh yeah, and I letter to maman and dad to tell them how I didn't get into Gryffindor. They were probably going to be very happy about that one.

Maybe I would also write to both grandparents. They would appreciate that, I suppose...

... but would I have time to do all of that tomorrow? First day of lessons, how was that going to be?

I was falling asleep, and I wasn't surprised to find out that the only new person I dreamed about was that Gryffindor with blue eyes.

---

_Second chapter! Dominique is kind of fun to write, I won't deny it. Well, I hope you like this chapter! Thanks for those of you who reviewed, it means a lot to me! :) I don't always reply reviews because I don't have much time, but it is very appreciated and I do enjoy constructive criticism. _

_Please review!_

_-Phankam._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer**_**:**_I,Phankam, do not and will never own Harry Potter. I do own my little OCs though. :)_

---

The next morning came way too soon for my liking, especially because I had had such amazing dreams that definitely did not involve waking up in a room with five girls who I did not know.

I got up rather early, before any of the aforementioned girls was even thinking about waking up. After getting dressed quickly in my Ravenclaw uniform and putting my black and blue robes on top, I sat down on my bed and started writing a letter to my parents to inform them about my sorting. I was halfway through the letter when Emily sat down on her bed and stared at me.

"Hi." She said shyly with a small smile upon her face. I smiled back in acknowledgement.

"Hello. How did you sleep?" I asked politely. At the sound of our conversation, the other girls started waking up.

"Okay, I guess." She said as she started getting ready to go for breakfast. She was the first of the group to be ready, and when she was she smiled at me a little. "Want to go for breakfast?"

I nodded and followed her out the door without waiting for the other girls, who seemed to be very busy getting ready. I rolled my eyes as I heard Monica asking Sabrina about some lipstick, since I wasn't a big fan of makeup myself.

"Are you nervous?" Emily asked as we walked down the corridor right outside the Common Room.

"No, not really." I said, being completely truthful. "It's just school."

"I wish I could be like that." She mumbled. "If I were you, I'd probably be dying."

"Well, I suppose that if I didn't know anyone I would, but my cousins are here, and also you and the other girls who have been nice to me." I said matter-of-factly. Emily just stared at me, looking a little awestruck.

"That's true." She finally said, laughing a little. In the Great Hall, we sat in the same area of the table from the night before. Emily took pretty much the same spot from the previous night, and I sat next to her. "So, is this too different from your school?" she asked that as she poured some pumpkin juice into her cup.

"Truth be told, yes. I think Beauxbatons is more beautiful, but Hogwarts has its mysterious vibe, which I'm not sure I like but I do find it interesting." I said, looking around. I spotted the tiny professor Flitwick walking along our table, giving out papers to the Ravenclaw students. I also spotted professor Bones, professor Longbottom and professor Slughorn doing the same thing in their respective House tables. "What are they doing?"

"Giving out our schedules." She explained. "Which classes did you take?"

"Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies." Her face seemed to brighten up as I said that.

"I took the same ones." She said, grinning. Professor Flitwick arrived by us and gave her a timetable and then turned to me.

"Having a good first morning, Miss Weasley?" for some reason he seemed entertained when asking.

"Yeah, thanks for asking professor." I said, receiving my schedule and looking down at it. "What does that mean?" I asked, pointing at the first class of the morning that had an R and a G written on the corner.

"That we have that class with the Gryffindors." Emily said, and I was a little confused as she smiled widely.

"Gryffindor?" I repeated, and suddenly my mind was filled with the people I had met in Molly's compartment the day before, especially Matt Walters. And he was a third-year Gryffindor.

Emily seemed like she was going to talk, but before any word came out of her mouth, lots of owls flew into the room. I ignored them, figuring no one would've written to me yet, but I was surprised as not one but several owls landed in front of me, dropping a package and letters.

"What is this?" I asked, frowning. The package contained chocolates made by grandmère, with a letter congratulating me for making it into Ravenclaw. "How does she know I'm in Ravenclaw?" I muttered, still with a frown. Emily shrugged.

"Who is it from?"

"My grandmother." I said, picking up a letter that was undoubtedly written by dad's strange calligraphy.

_Dear Dom:_

_I was actually very glad to hear you got sorted into Ravenclaw. I know you probably thought I wanted you to go to Gryffindor, but I'm sure Ravenclaw suits your personality better. I'm sure you are adapting well despite the fact you said you wouldn't even give Hogwarts a chance._

_Mum says hello, and asks you to keep an eye on Lou, as you know he seems to get into trouble quite often for no reason at all._

_And remember that I am very, very proud of you._

_Love,_

_Dad._

I couldn't stop myself from smiling. My dad was definitely my favourite person in the world, and we got along very well, in spite of him enjoying calling me a sullen teenager at least a million times a day.

Maman, who I loved very much too, didn't ever seem to get me and definitely got along better with Victoire, my perfect older sister who apparently could do no wrong in maman's eyes...

_Dominique, I theenk you should put your 'air up like Victoire did, it looks way nicer_

_Dominique, what 'ave you done? Victoire would never do zat!_

I grumbled without even thinking about it and prepared to open the next letter when someone patted my shoulder. Turning around, I faced my little brother for the first time since we had gotten off the train.

"Hey Domi!" he said, smiling widely. "I'm in Gryffindor!"

"I know you are, Lou." I said, rolling my eyes. "Did you tell dad I was sorted into Ravenclaw?"

"No, I was going to ask if it had been you. Vic says it wasn't her either."

"It was me." A voice I didn't immediately recognize said. Teddy Lupin sat by me, wearing his Gryffindor uniform with blonde hair that kind of matched the gold and red prefect badge on his robes. "Well, I told Harry, and I suppose he told your parents."

"That makes sense." I said, finishing my toast. "Easier for me, I hate writing letters anyway."

"So, have you seen Vic?" Teddy asked, looking around the table.

"No." And I didn't want to see her either, to be quite honest. Seeing Victoire usually meant having to _talk_ to her, and I'd much rather not.

"Well, I'll be late for class. I'll see you around Dom and Lou." Ted said as he stood up and left. Lou stared at me with his wide blue eyes.

"What is your first class?"

"Herbology."

"Mine is Transfiguration."

"I didn't ask, Lou."

He frowned and left without saying a word, probably feeling offended.

"I'm guessing that's your brother." I was startled when Emily spoke again. I had forgotten she was still there. I nodded, opening the last letter, which was from grandma Weasley, of course congratulating me for getting into Ravenclaw. "Why do you know Ted Lupin?"

"Teddy?" I asked, turning around to look at her. "He's Uncle Harry's godson, he is pretty much family. My sister Victoire and he have been friends since they were very little."

"It must be so cool to grow up around so many people. I'm an only child and I don't have many cousins either."

"My family is a little obnoxious, but I do love them." I said, watching as Sabrina and Monica approached the table, giggling.

"You won't believe what just happened, Em." Sabrina said, smirking. "Sebastian, that boy you like, just got hexed."

"How is that funny?" I asked, confused. I looked at Emily, who seemed a little confused herself, but probably for different reasons than me.

"Why?"

"He was carrying some of his muggle things and the Slytherins made fun of him, like always, and he punched Marcus MacArthur for it. So he got hexed by Flint and that one big boy that goes around with them."

They kept talking about that Sebastian person for a while in which I got distracted looking around the room and eating my breakfast. I saw Teddy by the door taking to Victoire –or more like hovering over her- and laughing a lot. I frowned, feeling slightly jealous. I never had a Weasley relative to grow up close to since we had moved to France when I was barely three years old, and all my other cousins seemed to be very well adjusted to each other. Even Victoire, who was by far the oldest of our family so there were no cousins her age, had Teddy, who was my favorite honorary relative.

"Dom! Are you coming? We're slightly late for Herbology." Monica said, standing up quite abruptly at the same time as Sabrina. Emily, who hadn't finished her breakfast yet, stood up slowly.

"I don't think Emily is done yet." I said, raising my eyebrows.

"She's done. Right, Em?" Monica asked. Emily simply nodded a little too eagerly for my liking. What was with these girls doing everything Monica said? "Let's go."

She walked out the Great Hall being closely followed by Sabrina. Emily stood by my side as we followed them.

"So, this Sebastian kid…" I said, trying to start some conversation. "Does he always get hexed?"

"Well, he usually fights back. The Slytherins only try to get him when he can't defend himself."

"Why do they hex him, though?"

"He is a little strange." Emily said, smiling to herself. "I barely know him, really, but he is quite the character. He's muggleborn, you see."

"How is being a muggleborn any special?" I asked, since I myself knew a lot of muggleborns and that definitely wasn't a reason to call someone 'quite the character'.

"He's just so proud of his muggle heritage, it is a little funny, but still impressive. He's probably one of the best students in our year in spite of his never-ending efforts of showing off how muggle he can be."

"What house is he in?"

"Gryffindor." Her smile was still intact upon her face. "He's an example to follow for the other muggleborns."

"I can see why." I said, frowning. Muggle freak, in other words. Not like I wasn't used to those from spending long summers in company of grandpa Weasley, or seeing my cousin Hugo every once in a while, or with my other cousin Albus Potter, who was the closest to grandpa Weasley. "So, the Slytherins hex him just for the fun of it, right?"

"Slytherins are Slytherins, it is just what they do. Although from what I've heard, it used to be a lot worse back in your uncle's days."

"Uncle Harry's days, you mean?"

"Yeah, I've heard stories… from kids who heard it from their parents."

"Don't your parents talk about Hogwarts?" I asked out of curiosity. Emily stared back, looking slightly confused.

"Oh, no, no, they didn't come to Hogwarts. They're muggles, you see."

"What do they do in the muggle world?"

"My mum is a nurse, and my dad is a doctor." She said, smiling slightly. "I live with my dad though."

"Why?" I frowned slightly and felt a little intrusive, but I couldn't help being curious.

"I get along better with him." She explained, shrugging. I nodded, understanding a little since I got along better with my dad as well. But again, I wasn't sure who I'd live with if they ever separated or something.

"Was it weird to find out about the wizarding world?" I asked, trying to change slightly the topic so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

"Actually… I knew about it from before." She said cautiously. I stopped right on my tracks, confused. Emily seemed quite pleased to see that she had surprised me. "We lived next door from a wizarding family, in Ottery St. Catchpole."

"So they just ran around showing off their magic?" I said, noting how Ottery St. Catchpole was close to where my grandma and grandpa Weasley lived in.

"No… but…" we had arrived at the greenhouses, and Professor Longbottom was already standing in front of the group.

"Miss Carlson, Miss Weasley, hurry up." Professor Longbottom said, smiling warmly. I smiled back, and looked around. "Miss Carlson, you might join Miss Metz and Miss Gallagher as always. As for you, Miss Weasley…" he looked around the room, but everyone else seemed to have a group. Monica seemed about to say something when the door opened again, and a skinny boy walked in. "Carter, you're late."

"Sorry, professor, got sidetracked." His voice had a strange but nice pitch. He had short light brown hair, and was wearing Gryffindor robes.

"Don't make me take points from Gryffindor. Miss Weasley, you can partner up with Carter." Professor Longbottom turned around and walked a few steps away from us.

"Hurry up, Weasley." Carter mumbled under his breath. I was going to complain about his tone, but I knew it wasn't the right time. He stood at the end of one of the work tables, next to a blonde-haired blue-eyed boy I knew.

"Hi Matt." I said, smiling widely. Matt turned around and smiled back as I stood next to him, with Carter on my other side.

"As I was saying before I was interrupted, today we will start learning how to harvest puffapods."

"Boring." Carter muttered under his breath. I glanced sideways at him, and noticed how he was scribbling Professor Longbottom's words anyway, in what seemed like a muggle notebook. As quiet chattering started, I noticed how there were instructions on the board and everyone had started to work. "So, you're Weasley's cousin." Carter stated, looking at me with a strange look upon his face.

"Which Weasley are you talking about?" I replied, frowning at him. Carter didn't look intimidated. In fact, he looked rather amused.

"Molly Weasley, that Weasley. I'm Sebastian Carter, by the way." He said, looking over my shoulder towards the board.

"Dominique, but please call me Dom." I said, wondering if this was the same Gryffindor Sebastian Emily had told me about, and considering his muggle notebook, that was actually likely.

"Seb, then." He said. "Walters, get your hands off my stuff." He said, glaring at Matt, who was looking at the pencil Seb had used for writing.

"Is this muggle-made?" Matt asked, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, get your hands off it." Seb answered not very politely, trying to snatch it back from him. Matt was faster than him though, and kept the pencil out of Carter's reach.

Then, it all happened in a blur. I saw wands moving on each side of me, so I drew mine too, not sure of what I could do.

"Protego!" I cried while waving it. My Shield-Charm wasn't especially powerful, but both boys stumbled backwards, clutching onto their wands.

"What's going on there?!" Professor Longbottom had reached us faster than what seemed possible. I lowered my wand, breathing as calmly as I could.

…

"Why am I not surprised?" Emily asked when I finally explained what had happened in the greenhouse. We were in our Muggle Studies class, and Professor MacDougal was talking about Muggle inventions that tried to supplant magic in their lives. "That's typical of Sebastian."

"He's very jumpy, if you ask me." I said, frowning a little. He was sitting in the last row, two seats behind us, all by himself. "So much for being a proud muggleborn, he's sitting in the back in this class."

"He probably finds the class insulting." Emily explained, looking over her shoulder. "So, why did you know that shield-charm?"

"Duel Club, back in Beauxbatons." I explained, shrugging. "It has come in handy in a few occasions."

"Duel Club? That sounds dodgy."

"It was, really. I never got really injured, but I saw some kids doing so. It was fun, though."

"There's Duel Club here too, but I know it's very regulated. Professor Longbottom is the teacher in charge."

"Really? He doesn't seem like he could pull off a good duel." I said, writing down what Professor MacDougal had deemed as important in the board.

"Professor Longbottom was part of Dumbledore's Army." Said a voice behind us. I turned around, and was surprised to see Carter sitting right there.

"When did you get there?" I asked, frowning. He raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled.

"I've been sitting here all along, Dom." He replied smiling slightly. "That was a nice Shield Charm. Do you think you can teach me?"

"Mr. Carter, Miss Weasley and Miss Carlson, pay attention, please." Said the professor. I turned around, not wanting to get in trouble on my first day.

As soon as the bell rang, Carter caught up with us.

"So, will you teach me? I think I'd be useful to know that." He said, smiling slightly. In a strange way, I liked the fact that he was willing to ask a girl to teach him. "For Duel Club, starting on Wednesday."

"Isn't Duel Club for fourth-years and older?" Emily asked, frowning, slightly confused.

"Didn't you read the notice board in your common room last night?" Carter asked, smiling widely. "Uncle Walter is helping Professor Longbottom with the Club this year, and together they decided to make it available for third-years as well."

"Who's Uncle Walter?" I asked, wondering why an Uncle of Carter would be involved somehow in Hogwarts. Wasn't he supposed to be a Muggleborn?

"Professor Vaughn, from Defense Against the Dark Arts." Emily said really fast, looking nervous.

"Em, are you joining? It'll be fun!" Carter said excitedly. "You will join, right Dom?"

"I could." I said, noticing how he called me by my nickname with no trouble at all, but in my mind he was still Carter, not even Sebastian, much less Seb.

"C'mon Em, it will be just like when we were kids! Remember?" he said, bouncing and smiling. "Pretending we were magical and dueling in Uncle Walter's backyard?"

"I don't know Seb, but I'll think about it."

"Cool. Well, see you later." He said, straightening his backpack and running off down the corridor. I stood there, trying to cope with the confusion building up in my head.

"I don't think I quite understand what he was talking about." I said, turning to face Emily, who simply shrugged.

"It's not that complicated… Let's go for lunch, I'm starving."

"Wait, aren't you telling me why you knew Carter from before Hogwarts?" I asked, not caring at all about not being nosy.

"Who said we knew each other before Hogwarts?"

"You dueled with him in a Professor's backyard, and you _pretended_ to be magical. That sounds pretty 'before Hogwarts' to me, and considering that magic shows itself at a young age, it sounds like you were rather young."

Emily stared at me, and in the end just sighed. We started walking towards the Great Hall. I didn't insist, because I could tell from her attitude that she was going to tell me, but was still thinking about the right way or something.

"I've always lived in Ottery St. Catchpole, and it was always rather uneventful. But the summer when I was 5, this family moved next door. My dad always said they were a weird bunch, but they seemed okay to me. When school started, their oldest child was in the local Primary School with me, in Year One. That was Sebastian Carter."

"Wait, you said Sebastian is Muggleborn!"

"He _is_ Muggleborn! The Vaughn's are his foster parents."

I opened my mouth, but found that I was too confused for even trying to say something mildly intelligent. Emily seemed to noticed this.

"They're from the United States. They took Seb in when he was a toddler, and brought him with them to England, and tried to raise him to be as Muggle as possible, because they believed he was a Muggle."

"But... you said you barely knew him!"

"I barely know him anymore." Em mumbled as she sat down and started getting herself some shepherd's pie.

By that point of the story, I was deeply interested in knowing more about that pale Gryffindor boy, who was now sitting next to a boy with black hair and a huge grin on his face, who looked slightly younger than him, and was wearing green and silver robes. A Slytherin? Why was he sitting with a Slytherin?

I had so many questions to ask, but not enough nerve to get them out. Would it be too intrusive? It had seemed like Emily didn't want to talk about it, so maybe Sebastian would feel even more strongly about the matter in hand.

When Monica and Sabrina joined us for lunch, it was hard to keep up with their conversation. I was too deeply involved with my own thoughts to give theirs any importance whatsoever.

Slowly, I was building up my own mystery to solve, probably as a way to make my experience at Hogwarts a more enjoyable one. It was a quest of sorts, one of those questions you must find a good answer for, and I was going to look for it, no matter what happened.

---

_I'm sorry it's been forever since the last update! That's why this chapter's a little longer, to make up for the long absence! The thing is, I started my summer break about a month ago, but I hadn't find any time to write, because of all the Holiday madness that took over my home, with family visiting and that good stuff. But here it is, and with more of a plot for now! :D I hope you enjoyed it, and many thanks for the reviews, favourites and alerts! :)_

_Please review!_

_-Phankam._


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